Ahead of a chain with 1,200 stores spread over 430 Brazilian cities and revenues of R $ 1.5 billion, Arione Diniz believes she won one of the biggest challenges of family businesses: succession.
Founder of Opticians Diniz, he spent the stick to his daughter, Ariane Diniz, after a rigorous preparation process that lasted six years.
“She did not enter the front door, entered the kitchen. He went to know each operation, to understand the reality of the franchisees. It was not simply ‘is the daughter of the owner and ready’. From zero to toppresented by Mariana Amaro.
Preparation
Ariane assumed the company’s presidency after undergoing an internal training program and also an immersion in all areas of the company. In addition to acting directly in various sectors, it traveled Brazil to visit units and talk to the regional directors.
“Almost 90% of the regions were visited personally by her, store by store,” said her father. “It was essential to understand how each unit performed, how customer capture, how I paid rent and suppliers.”
According to Ariane, the process of professionalization of the company was also fundamental for the transition.
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“When I entered, we hired a consultancy to structure the franchisor and prepare the succession process. Before, marketing took care of a lot of mixed things. Today we have nine areas well defined below the presidency.”
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Change brought practical results
The change of command brought practical results. Not only has the company expanded its national presence, but also came to appear among the country’s highest rated franchises in terms of the satisfaction of franchisees.
“After Ariane took over, we had a significant transformation. Today, we are recognized for the real support for franchisees, following from implementation to day -to -day management,” said Arione.
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Currently, São Paulo is the company’s main market, with 208 units – even surpassing Maranhão, where the company was born. “It was a late expansion to the state, because of a gentlemen’s agreement we had in the past, but is now yielding fruits,” he said.
Ariane plans to keep the pace rapidly. In 2024, the network foresees the opening of more than 100 new units.
“Each inauguration is a dream come true for both the network and the new franchisees. We are investing a lot in structure and differentiation in service, because the market is extremely competitive, especially in price,” said the president.
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About the succession process, Arione is categorical: “I had no vanity. Everything in life is a cycle. I wanted her to be better than me, and that’s what’s going on.”
